Neil
Gaiman holds a sterling reputation among the annals of genre fandom, thanks
to his extraordinary work on the Sandman comics and subsequent pieces
like Stardust and
Coraline. Fifteen years ago, he conceived of a series about a fantasy
universe beneath the streets of London called Neverwhere. It only
lasted six episodes, but it curried a cult reputation befitting its marquee
creator. To honor the anniversary, it’s been re-released on DVD, and proves
at once a fascinating and extremely frustrating affair.

Some of the difficulties stem from an over-familiarity with Gaiman’s work,
something that was far less of a concern back in 1996. Many of his tropes
feel a trifle threadbare and some of the concepts have appeared elsewhere in
more engaging form. Then there’s the issue of budget. The sets and effects
leave a lot to be desired, while the decision to shoot the series on video
and then alter it to make it appear like film proved extremely
ill-conceived. It lends the images an off-putting quality, while drawing
attention to the fact that Gaiman’s imagination is hopelessly outstripping
the means to realize it.

Thankfully, Gaiman is too adept a storyteller to let those flaws derail the
proceedings entirely. His script brims with sharp dialogue and clever
ruminations. The story concerns an average Londoner named Richard (Gary
Blakewell) who stops to help a girl in distress one evening on the way to a
dinner date. The girl, Door (Laura Fraser), belongs to a hidden world called
London Below: governed by rival noble houses and inhabited by people with
wondrous abilities. Having assisted her, Richard now finds himself invisible
to the normal world, and must travel through London Below in an effort to
regain what he has lost.

His quest is filled with a slew of marvelous Gaiman-isms, many of them
similar to the things he did in The Sandman. The villains get the
best of it; Richard and Door are pursued by a pair of cads named Croup (Hywel
Bennett) and Vandemar (Clive Russell) who play golf with live frogs as balls
and casually mention that they burned Troy to the ground. Those sorts of
throwaway details cram every corner of Neverwhere, helping to sell
the universe in ways that the shoestring budget could not hope for. The cast
dives into them with the relish that only theatrically trained
Shakespeareans can muster, and while they occasionally veer into hamminess,
it works marvelously with dialogue of this nature.

It’s also apparent that Gaiman is accustomed to writing in a four-color
format. Many of the asides and reveals in Neverwhere show comic-book
sensibilities, giving the production a unique sensibility that serves it
well. It meanders a bit and the dog eventually displays quite a bit of shag,
but six half-hour episodes make it easy to pick up and put down without
losing the thread of the narrative.

Gaiman’s fans will appreciate it the most, of course, and Neverwhere
speaks most directly to their sensibilities. Those less enamored of his
auteurial style will struggle with it a bit more, and anyone outside of its
ethos will likely find it baffling. But it knows itself very well and does
some quietly remarkable things with the limited resources at its disposal.
It remains a curiosity among Gaiman’s adaptations: lacking the flash of
bigger efforts, but bringing a scruffy charm with it that more polished
productions could never achieve. 15 years later, we’re still talking about
it. That’s a rare enough feat to justify venturing back into its twisting
corridors for a second look.

THE DISC: The disc is pretty no-nonsense, containing the six episodes
that comprise the miniseries and a smattering of extras. Gaiman himself
contributes a pair of audio commentaries, including a new one that also
includes insight from series co-developer Lenny Henry and producer Clive
Brill. A third interview with Gaiman headlines the extra features, which
also include a brief introduction, a photo gallery and brief character
descriptions to help everyone keep track of who’s who. The commenters are
all brutally honest about the shooting conditions, and aren’t afraid to note
shortcomings as well as triumphs. Image quality is as good as one can expect
given the history of the piece, but its clarity actually highlights the
problems with the visuals rather than making them look better. Fans,
however, will appreciate the folded map of London Below that comes in the
DVD case.

WORTH IT? Gaiman fans should relish it, though it lacks the flair
that marks his best work. Newcomers will find it readily accessible,
provided they can look past the low budget to see the imagination working
beneath it.

RECOMMENDATION:Neverwhere isn’t the masterpiece that its
strongest adherents would have you believe, but Gaiman’s skills as a
storyteller help it cross the finish line.